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headshot portraits

May 02
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Headshot Portraits for an Atlanta Engineering Firm

By corporate photography, Graphic Works, head shots, headshot portraits, Masqueman Photography, portrait photography
Many of my clients are right in my own back yard. This is especially true with an engineering firm that is located just a mile from the studio. This certainly makes the drive shorter.
Every company has preferences for the types of head shot portraits that I shoot for them. I show examples of styles that I have used in the past and ask if they would like any of the styles that they see. This puts us on the same page so that there are no surprises. This corporation chose a gray background style that has a slight gradient. The lighting ratio on the face is fairly close so no heavy shadows here. 
I have made head shot portraits in just about any kind of corporate room you can imagine from a claustrophobic closet to a normal conference room to a gigantic warehouse space. I can set up a portable studio in the space reserved for me… even a front entrance.
I shoot photos tethered to a computer so that I can show the victim, err, I mean subject the images. This usually makes clients happy because they will not be surprised with a photo that they dislike. I can also give contextual feedback that help the subject improve their posture or smile. 
In the end, I provide finished photos at the ratio they need for their web site (4×5 or 4×6) and another 1×1 ratio portrait for social media sites like Linked-In that use square proportions.
 I am always thrilled to work with neighbors and this was no exception.I even got to meet the office mascot who was notoriously shy. One click of the shutter, and this guy bolted.
Mar 10
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Executive Portraits for Spin-off Healthcare Corporation

By corporate photography, Graphic Works, head shots, headshot portraits, Masqueman Photography
If you have not heard, last year Kimberly-Clark Corporation spun off a $1.8 billion healthcare division resulting in an independent, publicly traded company named Halyard Health. This new entity will be  focusing on preventing infection, eliminating pain and speeding recovery for healthcare providers and their patients.
I was hired to create executive headshot portraits of the international board of directors. I would only have a minuscule 30 minute window of time to do it since their day was crammed with obligations. This meant showing up the previous day to set up my portable headshot studio consisting of a backdrop, 4 lights, a camera and a photographer… that’s me.
I had to cut the set-up short because apparently the flash was bouncing into the board room making people think it was lightning outside. To put it mildly, this was distracting during an important Powerpoint presentation. We all had a chuckle about this later… but not then.
I showed up 2 hours early the next day to finish the setup. Then, during a short break in the meetings, I took all the portraits, packed up and hit the road. Mission accomplished.
Mar 03
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Shooting 225 Badge Photo Portraits in 3 Locations

By badge photos, corporate photography, Graphic Works, head shots, headshot portraits, Masqueman Photography
There are different quality levels of portrait photography from a typical DMV mug shot to a multiple-light professional headshot. The difference is all in the lighting and maybe the willingness to make the subject look decent. I was asked to do something in-between, and was hired to make 225 badge photos for a national healthcare company in multiple locations in the Atlanta area.
Many of the subjects shared horror stories of past badge photos during a bad hair day, when a pimple sprouted on the tip of their nose or they got just one attempt. Though a necessity, many employees do not like getting these and they are in a rush to get back to the day’s deadlines or lunch. 
On the flip side, many people are not willing to give up the 10 year old badge photo of their younger self. I made it my personal mission to make them look good and maybe even have some fun. There is nothing fancy with the 2 light setup, but it works for this sort of thing. 
Many of the photos were taken in just 2 shots. I had them write their names on paper and hold them up like they do in a police mugshot. Here’s one guy who is familiar with that concept…just kidding Nick.
Regardless of the quick nature of these utilitarian photos, quite a few of the employees were photogenic… not bad for a badge photo.
Nov 02
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Two for One Headshot Sessions

By Andrew Hughes, corporate photography, head shots, headshot portraits, Masqueman Photography
When two of my buddies told me within the same week that they wanted new head shots, my response was to proverbially kill two birds with one Canon. There is nothing more business-like than high efficiency, but that does not mean we had to be boring. They wisecracked jokes the whole time. I am afraid that they might hurt me for posting the photo below… ha ha.

We knocked out the standard business head shots first. Unless I am trying to specifically match the style of a company’s headshot, I tend to shoot a variety of backgrounds for the client. I can do this quickly by moving a few prearranged backdrops.

The requirements for Jason were slightly different since the headshot was going to include his company logo on his shirt. He owns Performance Audio & Video Atlanta…one of the best audio, video and home automation companies in Atlanta. Give him a call if you need any of that.

While Justinas was dressed to the nines, I took some full body portraits in case he becomes a CEO or lawyer in the coming years. I remember the first time I met him with long hair riding a motorcycle. Now he is a respectable business man, and he cleaned up nicely.

We then moved on to more stylized photos. For Jason, I used a warmer tone to match his shirt. For Justinas, I chose to use a slightly blue cast to match his shirt. I think doing this emphasizes the face more and the clothing less.

I know for sure that I have the best friends in the world.
Jan 12
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Portraits of an Atlanta Astrologer

By Andrew Hughes, Atlanta, head shots, headshot portraits, Masqueman Photography, portraits
Some people that I meet leave a great impression. This was the case with Maureen
who contacted me to have portraits made. 
I knew right away that I liked her kind disposition and easy going personality.
Hopefully, that comes through in the photos.
Her plan was to use the photos for her astrology business, social media,
and maybe even for some online dating. 
We spent our time trying different settings, backgrounds and arrangements. I try to give clients the variety they want, and as a photographer, this allows me to experiment with different techniques along the way. The next photo was made with a special doughnut-shaped ringflash which makes interesting catch lights.
The amethyst ring was a personal gift from her mother that was important to Maureen so we
included it. The matching background color ties it all together.
A scarf can be used in so many ways in a photoshoot. No woman should be without one.
My prediction came true… working with Maureen was a pleasure.
Dec 26
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Head Shot Portrait for an Atlanta Doctor

By Andrew Hughes, corporate photography, head shots, headshot portraits, Masqueman Photography, portrait photography

This is one of those cases where I needed to match a style of portrait that I took several years before. Luckily, I meticulously measure the position of my equipment, flash power and camera settings for every job I do. That way if an office manager says “we need a photo of our new doctor and we want it to look JUST LIKE the ones you took 2 years ago, I can do it.

I have even kept old studio flash sets due to recurring jobs… even though I have much more capable and expensive gear now. The bottom line is that it is faster for me to set up the old stuff instead of recalibrate a previous setup with new gear. You can decide for yourself if that makes me smart or lazy.

Dec 25
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Corporate Headshots and Executive Group Photos for Q-Spex

By Andrew Hughes, corporate photography, Graphic Works, group photography, headshot portraits, Masqueman Photography, QSpex
I get to make a lot of headshot portraits for corporate clients. Instead of the client coming to my studio, it is usually more convenient for me to show up at their office with a portable setup. Scheduling is always an issue with busy executives so we time the photoshoot on a day when everyone is in town.

To make the photos consistently sized, I visualize the final proportions of the portrait. Sometimes I crop the photo very tight if it going to be used for low-res applications such as websites. That way, the face is larger and easier to see.

It is important to be fast and efficient when making these portraits. The last thing you want to do is waste the time of someone who has meetings planned all day. To do this, I shoot with my camera tethered to a laptop computer. As soon as I take the photo, it is transferred to the computer where we can review it. After several shots, we pull all the photos up on screen, and we pick the best one… usually by process of elimination. It is rare when we do not all agree on the final choice.

When I first visited the QSpex building, I was drawn to the front entrance that had a sitting area next to a huge window. Window lit portraits are things that photographers dream of… unless the sun is pouring in like bright white laser beams as it was that day.

The day we showed up was overcast which was very lucky indeed. I still could have made it work with  bright sun, but maybe not without a more complex multi-light setup. There was no time for that since one of the executives had a lunch meeting and had to leave. Nothing like performance under pressure, but that is always part of the game. I set up a huge and high umbrella and fired off several frames concentrating on the placement of the executives. The basic photo is below marked with things that I did not like.

I am not a photo journalist so I am not bound by truthful reality. If I think I can make the final image better by retouching, compositing, tweaking or outright removal of distractions… I will do it. Of course, I do share this fact with the client and let them see both versions… just in case they like fire alarms and closet doors. The cleaned up image is below.

I knew we would be making a web site for QSpex also so I wanted to make sure I could use the group photo in a web banner which has more of a 16:9 aspect ratio. See it still works this way.

And finally, the image must work as a black and white photo. I often turn images to grayscale to make sure that they have enough detail and contrast to work without color.

Dec 24
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Corporate Group Photo in a Narrow Gray Box

By Andrew Hughes, corporate photography, Graphic Works, group photography, headshot portraits, Masqueman Photography, photography
Sometimes the locations where I am hired to make portraits are not very exciting. Let’s be honest, many American corporate offices are basically gray painted boxes. In the case below,  it was a narrow conference room in which I needed to make an eight person corporate group photo.You cannot tell form this angle, but I would have been hard pressed to squeeze behind the subjects.

Because of the tight confines of the room, my only option was to set up two large strobes to the right and left of me at the close end of the table, and push light into the room. This was not ideal because of the glass display at the end of the room showed the reflections of the strobes very clearly. Also, the frame rate of the screen was giving me weird partial images. In the end, I just decided it was faster and more efficient to put the logo in post-production.

People have asked why I did not just use the fluorescent overhead lights to make the photo. There are a few reasons. First  fluorescent lights flicker unevenly and can cause issues with exposure and color balance. Those can be overcome, but it just adds complexity to the shoot. Secondly, there is not as much light as you might think in the room. Human eyes are much more sensitive than the sensor in my camera. Even at high ISO settings, I would have to set a longish exposure… not good for sharp shots of this many living, blinking people.

Flash captures the scene in 1/100th of a second freezing everyone perfectly. It allows me to control the color and shape of the light more easily, and in this case it made it possible to get the strong reflections in the table… the most interesting part of the photograph.

Nov 10
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Halloween Photos of a Corporate Cat in a Hat

By corporate photography, costumes, Halloween, headshot portraits, Masqueman Photography, portrait photography
One of my favorite clients, Andrea, came to our studio on Halloween day dressed like the Cat in the Hat. She barely fit in the front door since her bonnet was so big. She was dropping off an executive for a headshot. 

Of course, I could not let this just pass, so while my “official” subject was getting dressed in the other room, I snapped a few quickies. I just kept all the light stands in the same locations, but turned them toward the closest wall. This way I would not mess up any of the settings I made for the other portrait.

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